Professor Thomas J. Webster has been selected to receive the Young Researcher Excellence Award from Purdue's Schools of Engineering. The purpose of this award is to recognize early excellence with clear potential for future preeminence in research by faculty in the Schools of Engineering. It is given to faculty who have not previously received the award, and who are under 35 years of age. Criteria for the award include contributions in all three areas of research, teaching, and service, but especially highlighting research/discovery impacts and the potential of their current program for future growth and increased significance.

Professor Thomas J. Webster has held a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue since 2000. The research area that he has developed in that time in nanostructured materials for biological applications has already had a major impact on our students, faculty members, and institution. His research initiatives are a vital component of the department’s overarching research thrust to understand cellular/molecular responses to novel implanted medical materials and devices. His innovative approaches to biomaterial design on the nanoscale are beginning to generate new implants with enhanced function and reliability that will have widespread clinical impact.

Professor Webster’s investigations of nanostructured materials for a variety of applications has resulted in 6 book chapters; 73 publications in highly respected journals such as Biomaterials, Journal of Biomedical Materials and Research, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Tissue Engineering; 13 patents obtained and/or in process; and over 130 contributed and invited conference presentations. Recently, his research on the promising application of novel nanostructured materials for biological applications has been highlighted in such media publications as Chemical and Engineering News, Advances in Nanomaterial Research, and Nanoparticle News.